William Hilderbrandt is pleased to welcome David Fisher, Head of Delegation, Nepal International Federation of Red Cross. The scale of Nepal’s disaster cannot yet be fully measured. Entire communities remain difficult to reach, tens of thousands of people have been affected, and official assessments are only beginning. But the central challenge is already clear: this cannot be treated solely as an immediate humanitarian emergency. What happens to these communities in the years ahead depends heavily on what we do now. Emergency relief must be accompanied from the outset by planning, funding and action for long-term recovery, including rebuilding homes and livelihoods. If that work is postponed until international attention has moved elsewhere, many people may never fully recover. And signs suggest that the speed and destructive force of this extreme natural event could become more frequent.
